Journal
FUNGAL BIOLOGY
Volume 119, Issue 10, Pages 901-916Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2015.06.010
Keywords
Hypocreales; Formicidae; Fulgoridae; Host specificity; Diversity; Taxonomy
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Funding
- Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) of the Netherlands organization for international cooperation in higher education (NUFFIC)
- National Science Foundation [DEB-0529752]
- COLCIENCIAS (Department of Science and Technology of Colombia) [4892009]
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The neotropical biogeographic zone is a 'hot spot' of global biodiversity, especially for insects. Fungal pathogens of insects appear to track this diversity. However, the integration of this unique component of fungal diversity into molecular phylogenetic analyses remains sparse. The entomopathogenic fungal genus Ophiocordyceps is species rich in this region with the first descriptions dating to the early nineteenth century. In this study, material from various ecosystems throughout Colombia and Ecuador was examined. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of five nuclear loci including SSU, LSU, TEF, RPB1, and RPB2 were conducted alongside a morphological evaluation. Thirty-five specimens were examined representing fifteen different species of Ophiocordyceps, and five new species, Ophiocordyceps blattarioides, Ophiocordyceps tiputini, Ophiocordyceps araracuarensis, Ophiocordyceps fulgoromorphila, and Ophiocordyceps evansii, were described. An accurate identification of the host allowed us to conclude that host identity and host habitat are positively correlated with phylogenetic species of Ophiocordyceps and are probably strong drivers for speciation of neotropical entomopathogenic fungi. (C) 2015 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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